Podcast Reflections

Podcast Reflections

I'm not sure when it happened, but I've have become addicted to educational podcasts! 
The only problem is, that I am usually listening while driving or walking.  It's really hard to take notes during those activities. 🤣

What I've decided to do is to write a "Podcast Reflection" post so I can process what I've heard as well as put a plan in place for how I want to use what I learned (or was reminded).  I was also hoping to demonstrate this as a form of professional development for teachers and a strategy for students as well.    ​
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Shake Up Learning Episode #34 

Anyone that has read this blog before, or follows me on Twitter, knows I am a Shake Up Learning fan! So, what a perfect place to start! 
This episode can reach almost all educators in some way.  If you are a teacher who doesn't have access to Google Classroom, I am so sorry! I would definitley keep fighting for it! You could still use a lot of the ideas with a Learning Management System (LMS) your district already uses. 
If you already use Google Classroom, you'll still get a lot of ideas from this episode.  The ideas listed below are from Kasey's podcast, I'm just highlighting how I use (or plan to) the idea. 
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To Demonstrate Google Classroom as a Tool for Teachers

I have quite a few Google Classrooms, but I have one called "Test Class" that I use to show teachers what different features look like on the teacher's side as well as the student side.  It's also a great way to test out new features since I don't have students of my own to try it with. 
Of coures, my poor children (6th and 10th grade) are often in my test classes as well.  Then I can log in as them to see what it looks like.  They have learned to ignore those. LOL!
​Hopefully, Google will eventually give us a "student view" so we don't have to have a class just for that, but it works in the meantime!  Keep asking for that feature if you want to see it happen too! 
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To Teach an Online Course

Kasey mentions Classy Graphics by Tony Vincent as a great example of Google Classroom as an online course, and she's right! I took the course and learned so much! Funny thing is, I knew how to use Google Classroom very well, but I never thought about a couple of his strategies before. 

1. Instead of attaching documents as an assignment , you would click submit, but you would put a link to your materials in the class comments so others could comment on them. This works well because the "teacher" doesn't need to remember to "return" the assisnment, and "students" get to view and comment on each others' work easily.  It makes for great collaboration and valuable discussion. I use this strategy now with our school Google Classroom. 

​2. Sharing your documents so anyone with a link can comment.  Then you get lots of feedback without anyone editing your document. Tony was good about making a copy of the original document, making the changes, then sharing the link in the comments so you could see what he was trying to explain. Using this with students would be the perfect example of authentic feedback! 

Ongoing Support and Coaching

I use Google Classroom as a "hub" for the teacher's I work with.  I have one class for my Google trainings so the teacher's always have access to resources without searching through their emails. I have other classes for teachers that I work with to support their evaluation process. It's a class for just the two of us! No administrators or other teachers. Again, it keeps us from having to keep track of emails and gives a private space to communicate when we aren't working together in person.  You can even do this with students... Maybe you have a student with a lot of accommodations that needs a one-stop-shop for helpful strategies, reminders, and encouragement.  Really, you can make your Google Classrooms work for anyone. 
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To Facilitate Online Book Studies

We are working on a year long book study using Shake Up Learning since we had the chance to get Kasey Bell to our school for a workshop this year! We passed out the books at the end of the year to give teachers the opportunity to read over the summer instead of keeping up throughout the year. We also created a Google Classroom to share resources, assignments, and eventually for a place to turn in our end of the year "culminating projects".  I also made a bookmark to go with the books so teachers knew what to expect throughout the year.  It's a great way to keep everyone involved and engaged since book studies tend to lose momementum after a while. 

To Share Resources and Templates

As I mentioned earlier, I have a Classroom for all of my Google Trainings since it's how I keep my Google Trainer certification up to date. Once you are in the Classroom, you have access to all of my sessions, even if you didn't get to come to all of them.  I don't require anyone to join unless they attend a session.  It's also the easiest way to get resources out to the teacher's without sharing through Drive or email. If you haven't noticed... I obviously am not a fan of email. ​😉
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*Assign and Discuss Podcast PD 

This is a new one for me and I can't wait to try it! 

I'm connected with Laura on Twitter, so if it works for her, I want to try it too!
Kasey has a Podcast PD Choiceboard on her site and Laura has a blog post that shows how she used this option for professional development. I can't wait to try it!  
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*Support and Track Challenges & Badges for Teachers

I've been wanting to use badges for a while, but I don't want it to take a lot of time to create and share.  I need to explore the resources Kasey shared in her post on badging so I can find the easiest one to use with teachers.  If I use this with teachers, it might also give them ideas on how to use it with their students.  Model the model, right?!  If you have ideas on how to use Google Classroom to award and track badeges, please share! 
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Streamline Announcements & Communication with Staff

This one is pretty self explanitory... skip the email! Use Google Classroom as your one-stop-shop!
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*Self-Paced Tutorials

I want to add this to my current Google training classroom.  The teachers I work with have asked for more virtual options, so this would be a perfect place to share them.  My goal is to create videos ​using Screencastify and WeVideo, then add them according to topic (ie. Google Drawings, Google Forms, etc.).  I also want to create GIF style tips for the easy shortcuts and quick tips that some of us take for granted. 
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*To Support Absentees

 Having assignments posted in Google Classroom can really help those students that have to miss school, but this could also be a great place to communicate with them directly.
Since you can assign and share resources to the students you want without sharing with the whole class, it's easy to share something with one student at a time with a personal message so they know they were missed.  This can also help with "repeat offenders" to hopefully reduce the number of absences.  If they know they are missed, they may be less likely to just stay home and get their work done there.  If you are working with teachers, it can show that they are appreciated and their opinions and conversation is missed when they can't be there in person. 
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To Organize and Blend Teacher Workshop Assignment

Kasey says "Google Classroom is a great way to organize your face-to-face teacher workshop materials and assignments. This also allows you to model what blending learning will look like in the classroom."
I wrote a post on Blended Learning a while back that might be helpful if you are trying to do that in your classroom or in your school.  It walks you through the different ways you can create a Blended Learning environment.  
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What ideas did you get? 

​If you haven't started listening to Podcasts yet, Check out the Shake Up Learning Show and the Google Teacher Tribe. 
Please share your thoughts on Twitter or Facebook, or comment below! 
Thanks for reading! ~Pam